Kanye West featuring Jamie Foxx · Album, 2005
Late Registration
8 sourced items across 2 sectionsVerified2Reported6
This is an album-level record: the sources describe how the album as a whole was recorded, not one song. Where a detail belongs to a single song, the row says so.
Songs this record stands for: Diamonds from Sierra Leone, Gold Digger, Heard 'Em Say, Touch the Sky. We found nothing specific to these songs, so this album record is the closest account we have.
What the sources do and do not say
Sound On Sound interviews mixer Craig Bauer about his five mixes for Late Registration (Addiction, Roses, Late, Heard 'Em Say and one more); it does not mention Gold Digger, so every row is album-level and applies only to Bauer's mixes. Rows from the narrative paragraph on over-compression and EQ are reported, not verified. Addiction and Heard 'Em Say specifics were left out as belonging to other songs.
Vocals (mix dynamics)
2 items
Mix effects
The real chain
GML 8900
Verified
Used with other compressors to control levels by compression instead of fader rides, vocals included, on Bauer's mixes of the album.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Close match
Massenburg DesignWorks MDWDRC2-Native
compressor
George Massenburg's own software dynamics processor, built on the same loudness-sensing ideas as the 8900 rather than modelling the hardware.
The real chain
Chandler EMI reissue compressor (model not stated)
Verified
Used with GML dynamics controllers to control levels by compression instead of fader rides, vocals included, on Bauer's mixes of the album.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Covers this kind of unit
Waves EMI TG12345 Channel Strip
channel strip
Includes the compressor/limiter of EMI's TG12345 desk, one of the Abbey Road designs Chandler's reissues follow. The source does not name the model, so this stands for the maker's family of units: it is not a model of the one on the record.
Mix processing
6 items
Mix effects
The real chain
McDSP Compressor Bank
Reported
Used within Pro Tools to over-compress certain sounds at the mix.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.
The real chain
Euphonix Console (model not stated)
Reported
Its channel strip dynamics added further compression on top of the plug-in compression on certain sounds.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. The source does not name the model, so no specific plugin can be suggested.
The real chain
Sansamp Guitar amplifier emulator (model not stated)
Reported
Supplied extra grit through distortion on the mixes.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.
The real chain
Unidentified Amp Farm
Reported
Its distortion effects were used to add grit at the mix.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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No plugin suggested. This is already software, so the stand-in is the thing itself. No product link has been added for it yet.
The real chain
GML 8200 parametric equaliser
Reported
Used to tune the sounds of many melodic instruments at the mix.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Close match
Massenburg DesignWorks MDW Parametric EQ
equaliser
George Massenburg's own plugin equaliser, from the designer of the 8200. It is not a model of the hardware.
The real chain
API 550 equaliser module
Reported
Used with the GML 8200 to tune many melodic instruments at the mix.
Source: Sound On Sound, accessed 15 Nov 2026
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Emulation of this unit
Waves API 550
equaliser
Made with API as models of the 550A and 550B equalisers.
Sources
- Recording & Mixing Kanye West, Sound On Sound, 2006-02. Accessed 15 Nov 2026.
What the ratings mean
Stated by the engineer, producer or artist, or by the manufacturer.
Stated by a reputable secondary source.
An educated suggestion, not a documented fact.
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